House Bill 277 directs the Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater's office to "permit and arrange for the placement (of the monument) on the State Capitol grounds." Rainwater is Gov. Bobby Jindal's chief financial and governmental operations officer.

The bill says that the overall size of the monument cannot exceed 6 feet in height, 4 feet in width and 4 feet in depth, including the base of the structure.

Williams bill said that the state will not be responsible for installation and upkeep of the monument.

It calls for Rainwater's office to solicit private entities for donations to install and maintain the monument. It sets a Dec. 31 deadline for Rainwater to make a selection.

Williams said a group like the Louisiana Family Forum may be approached for donations to install and maintain the monument. The organization is a conservative Christian, church-oriented organization that lobbies at the Capitol.

Williams' bill says that the monument must include a plaque that includes a statement that the Ten Commandments are placed on the Capitol grounds acknowledging "America's religious history."

He said it must meet the standards used by the U.S. Supreme Court in upholding the installation of a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas capitol in Austin. In that case, the nation's highest court ruled that the monument was constitutional because it dealt with the Ten Commandments in a social and historical context, not a religious one.

"We are not looking at it from a religious perspective," Williams said. "Everything we do (in the law-making process) is based on the Ten Commandments."